C33.
Rice, R .E., Peterson, M. & Christine, R. (2001). A comparative
features analysis of publicly accessible commercial and government
health database web sites. In R. E. Rice & J. E. Katz (Eds.),
The
Internet and health communication: Expectations and experiences
(pp. 213-232). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
The goal of this study was to compare the
features of a set of commercial health database sites to those of a set
of government health database sites. Given the different kinds of
cultural imperatives, structural incentives and
constraints, audiences, motivations, purposes, and criteria used by
commercial
versus government health, we might expect some differences in the kinds
of
services and features used by these two types sources.
Tension between Cultural Imperatives and
Structural Incentives and Constraints
Likely Features in Commercial and Government
Health
Database Sites
Method
Cases
Features
The final typology included 7 general coding categories, 74 specific
features,
and associated operationalizations. The major categories that
emerged
from the prior typologies and our own analysis included: (1)
Non-interactive
substantive content (Scientific/Medical/Academic;
Educational/Journalistic/PR/Publicity; Other Resources; and
Website-Specific Columns), (2) E-Commerce, (3) Multimedia Content, (4)
Navigation/Assistance, (5) Search Methods, (6) Interactivity (among
Users; with the Website), and (7) Policy. Features included in
the initial typology but not occurring in these sites include:
E-Commerce: auctions (online bidding for medical products), and online
consultations for
a fee; Interactive with Website: surveys (usually separate page,
includes
questions about personal information); and Policy: security/encryption
(encrypted
messages, transaction security from main page).
Results
On average, commercial sites offered 22.5 of the 74 features
compared to
14 by government sites.
Trends and Implications
References
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